Pretty enjoyable half. Good save by their keeper from a decent low shot by Bennett, Lenihan missed a free header from six yards. Their goal was a combo of errors: Lenihan pulled out wide by his man, then Bennett came inside leaving their fullback(?) free to cross, then a crap attempt to palm it away. Brereton easily our best forward, need to see more of Holtby other than his mismatched boots and Gallagher’s control is absolutely hopeless.

Did those of us who already had a season video pass have to do anything to sign up for these games??

Haven’t seen shirts that muddy for twenty years. Interesting to hear Big Ron calling that we wouldn’t go up plus seeing Leicester employ an Old Etonians kick off charge toward goal.

“No change given”? Bloody Waggott - grasping bastard!

If perchance we go up, we’ll see a few score lines like that.

I think you are right, I knew Metcalfe was involved somehow. Pity was Bell, Lee and the rest ran our other players ragged.

Free kick on the right wing right in front of me, curled in by Mekky. Fryatt was head and shoulders above the City defence and powered it in. And no, I can’t remember what I had for breakfast!

Usually I have rose-tinted memories of games but that was even more exciting than I’d remembered. Completely forgotten Liverpool had a goal disallowed and that Stapleton header should’ve been in. Old Ewood (well, old-ish) at it’s best: muddy, packed, raucous. Sod modern-day football:

Totally got my seasons mixed up! Nonda threw me as I didn’t remember a single thing about him.

Boxing Day 2006 vs Rafa’s Reds was today’s game. Highlights: Friedal - unbeatable; Andre Oojer’s cheekbones; Andy Todd’s stare; Tugay’s stepovers - several that all worked; Benni’s finish; Ewood full. Lowlights: Nonda - early warning that Hughes would never buy a good player again?; Benni - head had gone; Bert at RB, Neill at LB - buy a proper LB rather than square pegs in round holes Mogga!; Pedersen’s pass completion rate

Today’s is the 3-2 Ewood win over t’basturds. I’d forgotten how much I didn’t like Samba trundling you up for every Pedersen “long” throw - their first goal came directly from one.

McNamee I’d put as equally transformative.

I’m now hooked on #Roversrewind - VE Day was also terrific watching in full. Back to Wembley, I thought in the first half Mimms looked like Banks when compared to Walton. Second half he looked like Walton! ? Lennie Lawrence called it though, they never turned our back 4 once. On top of that, the gulf in class between Newell/Speedie vs Rooster/Ornondroyd was huge and ultimately decided the game.

“He never showed up in the second leg against Palace, nor in the Full Members Cup Final” - first time I’ve heard anything that harsh from Don

Am I the only one who watched it today on Rovers YouTube channel, #Roversrewind? Never seen it since being there on the day and not having the stress of watching live made me revisit a few opinions I have held since. Definitely a penalty, Speedie beat Walsh with a turn and the arm came across him. Cowans was a lot more Tugay-esque than I remember. Atkins was like having two players; he was 23 then and a lot better than Travis at similar age IMO, he got past our forwards more in that game than LT has in his career. I don’t know why we convinced ourselves they were all over us: Mimms made one very pedestrian save all afternoon while Muggleton kept them in it with 4 crucial ones in the second half. The two goal line clearances were routine, either would’ve been a very scruffy goal had it gone in. I loved listening to Lennie Lawrence as the co-commentator, really good at explaining why things were happening. A bit surprising to hear Don McKay basically call Sellars a big-game choker in the preamble, not that he starred in the game to be fair to Don. Price was very ineffective on the other wing. There would’ve been four sendings off by today’s standards, and I for one prefer backpasses to the keeper to the endless sideways passing we have to endure today. It’s a cracking watch, don’t miss it.

I thought Stapleton was OK given we didn’t have a pot to piss in. It was John Radford that was the big letdown.

He was just as bad on our right wing.

I LOVED watching that game! That was a top Villa side and Don McKay’s worst Rovers side. Sellars was streets ahead, as was Garner when the ball came his way, I’d forgotten what a good crosser of the ball he was. A full Blackburn End, the old Riverside terracing, ads for Tommy Balls and Matthew Brown, middle-aged ref in black with nothing more than a whistle. I don’t buy that the game has got better. Yes, in a rational sense, great facilities, bowling green pitches, but emotionally the game has been gutted. Both sets of fans were making a racket throughout, they weren’t spectators, they were active participants. I didn’t see a single sideways pass at the back from either team, so it was far more end-to-end, far more moments of hope or fear. And increased player fitness is meaningless as they are all fitter, there was more make the ball do the work back then. Fabulous find.

Thank God for that, I’m not totally losing my marbles, I was convinced they were night matches. Didn’t one of them have a plane load of fans come up? Ted McDougall leading the line for Bournemouth - I bet he didn’t forget his 90 mins against McNamee!

Considering he didn’t take penalties or free kicks. I’ll never forget him laying out a centre forward while the ball was 50-yards away then stamping on the guy’s arm when the ball got booted toward him.

From memory the games were close together and they were both hot promotion favourites. Without digging my Jackman out I seem to recall we did well in both of them. I was in the Riverside around the halfway line and McNamee wasn’t much nearer the goal that I was. An almighty toe-bunger that seemed to be still going up when it went in.

“A stepping stone to even greater things....for me”!

Blimey Mark, you must be a real hoarder! I managed to put names to 16 of them. Rigby showed us the power of personality - smallest teacher in the school and he could silence a rowdy class with a glare.

I like the owner, and the manager. Just at the bit where Maja effed off - what a nightmare industry.

Well remembered on both counts Tony! He had a passion for the subject. The irony is I still failed the O-level ?. My funniest memory from there is Jobbo writing “...to fuck off” under the title of the “Go and Tell Aunt Nancy” sheet music! Well worth the mass detention.